Almost Silence
by LinaOso
Summary: They don't need to speak. One shot.


Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.

AN: As penance for my absence, I give you Cathrex. Headcanons are a bit different for this one, but just go along with it. It's more of a writing experiment than anything else so I'm not sure if it's good, but please let me know and as always, enjoy the read.

Her shivering had nothing to do with the chill in the air.

His fingers were playing up and down her spine, teasing her through the fabric of her nightgown. Although there was a fire burning brightly across the room from them, the burn she felt from those gentle caresses had her aflame with a deep want. Henry had come in after she had, an incredibly rare occurrence. She'd been nearly asleep when he'd climbed in bed, but then he'd begun to touch her. It wasn't like him to stay silent while his fingers mapped the contours of her body and her interest was piqued all the more for it. Even in the silence she hung upon the anticipation of his every word waiting to hear just what it was that he would say, yet none came. Did he wait for her to speak? This wasn't the way of things between them, nor had it ever been. Catherine had always been a quiet participant, too embarrassed of what she might sound like to part her lips. A hand was pressed to her mouth, willing the wanton groan in her throat to cease its urge to be known. Gasps and moans she could give him, but she had to be careful for what she might whisper into his ear. Henry couldn't know just how weak he made her, not even when they were tangled together. His lips would brush against her ear and say everything she'd ever wanted to hear and her heart couldn't help but hold on to such moments until next he visited her at night.

With a determined purpose, Henry allowed his hand to drift down his wife's thigh. She was such a shapely woman beneath her skirts, and he felt a sort of pride knowing just what it was that she kept under the embroidered fabrics of her gowns. Seeing her unwind beneath him was one of his favorite pursuits. To see his usually stoic Queen become a woman in his arms was a sight that never failed to satisfy the hunger he had for her. Biting back the hum at the feel of her skin against his hand, the King deigned instead to drop a kiss against the flesh above her neckline. Burying his nose in the golden locks that spilled from her head, Henry breathed in the scent that haunted his daydreams. He hadn't the slightest clue what it was that his wife threaded through her hair, but he hoped she never stopped. Such a perfume could have him mad with lust with just the briefest of hints at her wrist or her neck, but his clever minx wove it into these curls he loved so much. Tangling his free hand into the red before him, he let her scent envelope his senses as his other hand sought another kind of essence from her.

Laying on her side as she was, her thighs needed no help in being pressed together as his hands begun a teasing of a whole different sort. Not that Catherine minded, but it was odd to her that he was taking his time. Their couplings were usually a rush of heat, a storm that blew in with a force only to calm in the next moment. He was tending to her slowly, almost carefully tonight and she had to wonder why. Everything he'd done so far had been far from their normal routine and they'd yet to even partake in the act. Still, her heart was racing as if they were as his hand changed course, brushing the backs of thighs to find an easier route to her center that way. A silent gasp shuddering through her body at the first touch of him against her. Catherine nearly laughed at the thought of what she would do as this experiment of his came to completion if she was already responding so. His gentle fingers parting her folds, she pushed her hip down into the mattress lest she grind back into his hand.

Sliding across her slick, pouting lips, Henry slipped a tapered finger inside her heat. He couldn't remember the last time he'd touched her this way or if he ever had. From what he could see, her hazel eyes had fluttered closed and she was doing her best to control her ragged breathing. She was tense, concentrated, and he knew she was trying not to make a sound. It thrilled him to know how difficult it was for her not to react to him; her still trying to retain that stone façade even as his fingers pumped themselves in and out of her. His length twitched wanting to fill her, but he had to force down that craving. Catherine was shaking before him, her fair brow furrowed as she denied herself the pleasure of giving herself over to the feel of his touch. Henry often admired his Queen's strength in the secret recesses of his mind and he still couldn't believe how well she was holding out on him. Perhaps he should take a lesson in stamina from her. He sucked at the nape of her neck at his wicked thought he imagined her face should he say the words.

Nearly unable to stand the double stimulation, she bit her lip with a half hope that he would slow down. She could feel herself teetering on the edge of bliss, aching for him to both finish her and drag this out for as long as he could. Catherine didn't know if he'd do this to her again and she wanted it to last. She'd always known his hands were strong, but she'd never thought his fingers could work quite like this. Clutching at the bedsheet, she dug her nails in thankful that he wasn't in front of her or he might be having marks in the morning. It wouldn't be the first time that she would have left a reminder of their shared night on him, but it would be the first time she'd leave evidence of her own singular pleasure. That is, if he would give it to her. Henry had never been cruel enough to work her up so only to leave her wanting, but this had been a night so unlike the others and in a way she was afraid that he would. Shifting her hips just slightly to gain a better angle, she hoped her husband would do her this one kindness.

Quieting his screaming desire as she moved just that slightest bit, the King began to curl his fingers as his tongue danced across the sweet flesh of her neck. Her breathing hitched beside him and he showed his appreciation with a little nip to her shoulder. Soothing the bite with worshiping lips, he watched her as the edges of her resolve began to crumble. However miniscule the motions, Catherine had begun to rock against his hand. It was a bit different with them laying on their sides with him behind her, but she was taking his fingers in deeper, her soft walls beginning to tremble. Encouraging her with kisses against the back of her ear, he stayed silent much as he wanted to tell her just what how beautiful she was to him now. He nearly groaned as he saw her tongue flick out to wet her parted lips. How he wanted to ravish her mouth with his whenever she did that. For now, he would wait. His wife's face was turned into her pillow as her release overtook her senses. Henry didn't have to see to know she was biting in to the fabric as her inner walls clenched hard around his fingers that moved more slowly to stretch out the waves of her pleasure.

Her breathing heavy and unsteady, she felt undone. Releasing the fabric of her pillow from between her teeth, Catherine's eyes of blackened gold fluttered open. Blinking away thought, she turned to look over her shoulder at her husband. She watched with a stunned fascination as he licked her away from his long fingers. Her thighs still trembling with the aftershocks of her release, her hip accidentally brushed against his arousal as she shifted fully to face him. His groan around his own fingers at the contact brought her smoldering fire back to life. The Queen was still weak, but her gentle pull at his wrist was all she needed to communicate her wants. She spread her legs for him to settle between, helping him push up her nightgown to her waist. Her small hands trailing up and down his arms that rippled with his strength, she allowed her eyes to slide shut once more as he pressed in to her. With Henry's head resting in the curve of her neck, she smiled silently at the feel of his short beard tickling her sensitive skin. It felt so right to be like this with him. Not needing to hate him when he loved her so completely, she could promise him forever on nights like these.

With her tiny hands caressing him all over, he allowed himself to breathe her name into her ear. If ever he had a vice, it was her touch that drove him to distraction. Even clothed in the daylight with her bejeweled fingers running across his chest, he couldn't help but stop and watch as she tried to soothe his anger away. Memories of every touch they'd ever shared and every night spent together running through his mind, Henry began to rain kisses down on her neck. A little faster now with her hands clutching at his back, his hips moved against her as they always had. The wood of her mattress hitting the stone of the wall as he drove into her heat, he wondered if he might have to commission a new frame to be made again. All thought erased as her leg came up to wrap around his waist, a free hand reached to keep her there, gently kneading her soft thigh. Quieting her sigh with a chaste kiss, the King smiled down at her eyes dark with want. To see such an obvious sign of her desire for him, Henry couldn't help but kiss her more deeply as his hips sought to bring her once more into ecstasy.

Cradling his face in her hands as she opened her mouth for him, her hips began to meet his in an erratic rhythm. She could feel herself getting closer and knew that he wouldn't be able to hang on for much longer, yet she reveled in his kisses as she always had. There was something to his kiss that she couldn't quite name, something that had her hungry for more. Although her confidence in her carnal abilities waned with each passing year and every new young mistress, she felt safe in the knowledge that she had experience in kissing her husband. It was an intimacy she could give him without much doubt as to whether or not he understood her meaning as their lips met over and over. She could drink him in this way for hours if he let her. Pushing herself up on her elbows so that she might give him her attentions, Catherine worked both her hips and her tongue wanting to give him as much pleasure as she possibly could. She writhed against him, urging him deeper with her leg wrapping tighter around his waist. Gasping as he touched that place inside her, she broke from his kiss to throw her head back against her pillows.

Having her quiver around him sent Henry into his own release. Pumping his hips even as her leg around him fell away and she all but melted into the sheets, he kept moving for both of their sakes. He loved watching her sigh after she'd climaxed from under him with her sunset curls as a halo around her head. She was never more beautiful than in the afterglow of them making love. If his pride would let him, he could have let her know just how much he loved her in these moments. Instead he stayed quiet, pulling himself out slowly so she wouldn't be left with a sudden emptiness. He knew she would be extremely sensitive, but it didn't stop him from lifting her up in his arms so that he could remove her nightgown from her tired length. As he lay beside her and rolled her on top of his chest, he wondered if she knew she was smiling. It had been a long time since he'd seen that smile, one so unguarded and free of fear of reprimand. He knew of her reservations around him, but for now, these moments were what they made do with.

Listening to her breathe in the quiet he felt their hammering hearts slow and beat in tandem just as they used to.

AN: So! Here we are. This is an apology and a thank you to all my faithful readers. I'm coming back with a whirlwind of material this coming week, so please bear with me as I update random things? Reviews and criticism are always welcome as are requests! And to all of you who are new to my writing - I promise I can write other things XD As a sidenote: this hasn't been edited, but I'll come back with edits in these next few days xo thank you for reading!


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